Dear Evan Hansen at Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff – review

Thanks to Wales Millennium Centre for providing us with review tickets for Dear Evan Hansen

Broadway and West End hit musical Dear Evan Hansen is on its first-ever UK and Ireland tour, opening to a packed house at Cardiff’s Wales Millennium Centre last night, where it’s playing until Saturday.

With a soundtrack of memorable songs from Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (the Oscar-winning duo behind The Greatest Showman and La La Land) and a host of prestigious awards including a Tony, Olivier Award and Grammy, this new touring production comes with plenty of hype (not least because the film adaptation was so universally panned, partly for failing to show the emotional intricacies of the stage show – lots of fans were worried how a new touring production would compare). Thankfully, it lives up to expectations, delivering an evening of beautiful, emotional musical theatre that more than deserves its standing ovation.

Ryan Kopel plays Evan Hansen, an anxious high school student struggling to fit in. His therapist has told him to write letters to himself. Connor Murphy is a troubled loner with a drug problem and a violent streak. When Connor dies by suicide, the presence of a letter to Evan in Connor’s pocket – taken during an altercation in the school library – leads Connor’s parents to mistakenly believe the two were best friends. Evan doesn’t know how to tell them their son was bullying and threatening him and soon finds himself tangled in an ever-growing web of lies. His new popularity might have been what he always thought he wanted but brings with it a whole host of new problems, as he realises how much he has to lose.

Incredible performances.

Kopel gives an incredible performance, perfectly portraying Evan’s awkward mannerisms and nervous manner. His emotional breakdown in the second act is heartbreaking. Kopel brings out the complexities of the character; he makes a lot of wrong decisions but you can’t help but empathise with how he finds himself in such a situation. His rendition of Waving Through A Window, one of the musical’s most famous songs, will resonate with anyone who has ever felt like they don’t fit in, while You Will Be Found had me in tears.

Alice Fearn as single mother Heidi, working and studying around the clock to make a better life for them both but neglecting Evan in the process, delivers a very poignant rendition of So Big/So Small near the end of the show in which she recalls the day Evan’s father left them. Her realisation that she had no idea how much Evan was hurting, while she was trying to do her best for him, is powerful and every parent’s nightmare.

Helen Anker and Richard Hurst as Connor’s bereaved parents Cynthia and Larry give strong portrayals of how grief hits people differently, while Lauren Conroy as Zoe – their daughter, Connor’s sister and Evan’s love interest – channels teen angst and anger perfectly.

Killian Thomas Lefevre is Connor Murphy, perfectly encapsulating the troubled bully in the show’s opening scenes but equally incredibly funny in his later scenes with Tom Dickerson as Jared, Evan’s accomplice as they feed their lies. Their duet Sincerely, Me is witty and entertaining, providing lighter moments amid the heaviness.

A great show to watch with teens

Morgan Large’s staging is very minimal – perhaps a little too much at times – with basic furniture sets depicting the school corridors, bedrooms and kitchens. However, clever video projections, mirrors and light projections add a new and modern element to the show, which first premiered in 2016.

With an age guidance of 12, I took my 13 year old along and it opened the way for a lot of discussions around mental health, the importance of talking, that you never know what’s going on inside someone’s head, and that everyone matters. There were a few references to sex, drugs and suicide, which aren’t always easy to watch – but it’s such a relatable portrayal of teenagers feeling like they don’t fit in, and the dangers when they keep that all bottled up, it feels like a really important one to watch.

Dear Evan Hansen is definitely not your usual upbeat, feel-good musical – but it’s a powerful and emotional portrayal of mental health, grief, loneliness and love that’ll really make you think.

Dear Evan Hansen is at Wales Millennium Centre until Saturday 3 May with limited tickets still available, priced from £17. Age guidance is 12+ with no admittance to under 2s. Running time is 2h45 including interval. Visit the Wales Millennium Centre website for more information.

Coming up at Wales Millennium Centre: Chicago (5-10 May); Only Fools and Horses (12-17 May); Cruel Intentions: The 90s Musical (28-31 May); & Juliet (16-28 June); The Book Of Mormon (1-19 July); Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (22-27 July).